Break Me Down, Build Me Up, It Really Doesn't Matter
by Morningstar-Winchester
Summary: He didn't know how this had happened. How they'd gotten like this. How Max started looking at David as more than just some stupid camp counselor. All he knew was that things have definitely changed. Because suddenly Max wanted David to know he did care. / Set before/during/after Phone Call. Dadvid. Maybe an unhealthy amount of hurt/emotionally damaged Max. Enjoy :3
1. Fathers Day

"I can't _believe_ you forgot the meeting!"

"I didn't forget, I just wasn't _interested_!"

"How dare you-"

"I have better things to be doing with-"

"The one time I ask-"

Max pretty much froze in the doorway, his backpack suddenly feeling heavier, bearing down on his shoulders with as much weight as fucking possible and Max thought about just letting it thump to the ground. He didn't, though, staying still and silent, not wanting to alert his parents of his presence. Why the hell would he? Directing their anger for eachother onto him, yeah, no. That's what they did. When they were angry at each other, they took it off on Max. And it got violent. Sometimes it got physical, sometimes it was just screaming and yelling.

But as far as they knew, Max was still at school. They probably hadn't cared enough to check the time recently. He probably hadn't been on their minds since morning. Even before that, maybe.

But in certain situations, like now, Max was okay with that.

God, he couldn't wait for the summer. He couldn't wait to go back to that dumb camp. To see David's stupid, cheerful smile. To try to bring him down a little which snide comments and sarcastic remarks and try to get him to realize the world isn't all rainbows and sunshine. 'Cause if he stayed on that stupid high of his it was just gonna hurt him ten times more when somehow when he fell off it.

Not that Max cared. Why should he care?

The yelling from his parents brought him back to the present, and he flinched faintly despite himself when the voices drew closer.

"No, know what? I'm done!"

"Okay you can't just walk out-"

"Watch me! I-"

Max sighed. _Yep. Here we go._ He thought. Finally he let the backpack drop to the ground, because hey, they already knew he was there now. The weight pressing down onto his shoulders didn't lift, though. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable.

"Max." His father grumbled, running his fingers through his hair. "I - Great. Just fucking great. Shouldn't you be in school?"

"I just got out, Dad." Max explained, staring at him.

"Oh." His father muttered, eyes narrowing, but he couldn't seem to think of anything else. Finally, he did, though. "Go do your homework, then."

"S'Friday." Max sighed. "I don't have any."

"Dammit, boy!" His father growled, and had Max _not_ been expecting that, he would've flinched. Instead, the kid just averted his gaze to stare at the ground. "Just go do something!"

Max caught himself before he could speak again, biting down on his tongue. _Oh, go fuck yourself, asshat._

And then his father was out the door, shoving past him, still grumbling. Max was vaguely aware of his mother watching him, though, and he glanced up, raising an eyebrow.

His mother looked worn out. Her hair was messy and her eyes were bloodshot and she looked exhausted. Too exhausted to yell or complain like Max's father, luckily. Max couldn't really feel any sympathy. He'd lost that toward his parents a long time ago.

"Max, honey," Finally his mother spoke, and Max just narrowed his eyes. _I'm not your honey, bitch._ "Your father and I are… Gonna take a little break, okay?"

"From each other?" Max said blankly, eyes narrowing faintly.

"From… Everything." His mother replied quietly. "We just need some time away. From here, and from each other."

Max didn't know what she expected him to say. He already knew where this was going - They were gonna leave him here. They did that often. They were never gone for more than a week and honestly, Max enjoyed the time to himself, the silence. It was a hell of a lot better than screaming and yelling and anger all the time.

"Okay, bye."

Max didn't know what his mother expected, but her eyes widened faintly in surprise and maybe a little disappointment that Max didn't seem very upset. He stood for a while, staring up at her, before shrugging and grabbing his backpack and heading upstairs to his room.

God, he couldn't wait to get out of this hellhole and go back to Camp Campbell.

Although he wouldn't ever admit that out loud.

* * *

"We'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay." Max's reply was simple, not taking his gaze off of what he was doing. And what he was doing was making himself a sandwich. Or at least attempting to. Where the hell was the bread?

"Call us if you need anything-"

 _Like you'd answer._

"-Our numbers are on the fridge-"

 _Gonna ball 'em up and catch 'em on fire as soon as you leave, bitch._

"-Your camp counselor's number is up there, too, in case you can't reach us-"

At that, Max did pause and turn his head for a split second to look up at his mother, then he shut the fridge to look at the door. Sure enough, below the paper that had his parents' numbers scribbled down, was a small sticky note with another number Max guessed was David's.

 _So how bad is it that if I_ do _need anything - which I won't - he'll be the one I call instead of my own parents?_

Max shrugged, and continued his journey to find the bread. Where the fuck was the bread.

"-We'll be back soon."

 _Amazing speech._ Max thought dryly, but he didn't say this. Instead he responded with another; "Okay."

Okay, he really needed to go to the store. They were out of bread.

"Bye, honey-"

 _Not your honey. If I was your honey, you wouldn't be taking off on me like this._

"-Call us if you need us."

 _Like hell._

And then, she was gone. His father had already left. And now the house was completely empty. Max shut the fridge and ripped off the paper with his parents' numbers, leaving behind David's, though. He ripped the paper up into little strips, then crumbled them up and tossed them into the trash can, brushing his hands off.

Then he went upstairs to his room, rummaging through his stuff until he found some money he had stashed away. Then he left, too, to go to the store to buy some fucking bread.

* * *

Okay he'd intended to go to the store. Really, he had.

But it was dark out and he'd met some really shady kids in an alley who said they'd give him alcohol for whatever money he had. And Max was already in a bad enough mood and he'd never had alcohol before but he heard it was _great_ for bad moods and he was willing to try anything once.

Well, he now had a six pack of beer and he had no idea what to do with it. He sat down outside some corner store and took one of the bottles out. It took him a while to get it open, but he managed. He sniffed it first - Smelled weird as hell - Then took a small sip. He gagged instantly, and broke down into a coughing fit, trying not to choke. Shit, it was strong.

Yeah, he should've been expecting that.

"Damn." Max grumbled once he'd recovered, letting out a few coughs just for good measure. The stuff tasted like shit.

He took another sip. This time he was expecting it, so it wasn't as bad. He'd literally only taken two sips, and the world was already starting to blur out. The good news was, though, the weight pressing onto his shoulders disappeared.

He forgot why he was upset in the first place.

By the third sip, he was sure he was drunk as fuck now. He wasn't, really, just a little more than tipsy, but he wasn't completely drunk yet. Of course, he had an obviously low tolerance for alcohol. Then again he was a kid - What had he expected?

 _"There's a place I know that's tucked away,_  
 _A place where you and I can stay,_  
 _Where we can go to laugh and play,_  
 _And have adventures every day._  
 _I know it sounds hard to believe, but guys and gals, it's true!_  
 _Camp Campbell is the place for me and yoooouuu!"_

Yeah. Max was at least slightly drunk.

"Dammmmmmit," Max muttered, staring down at the beer. "Heh, this is gonna end so fuckin' badly... I wanna..." He narrowed his eyes. "When's camp start... Wanna go to camp. Wan'... Camp Campbell. N' David... N' I... Got nobody else. S'not okay... But... Camp.."

He was distracted, so he didn't hear the sirens, but he blinked and jerked a little in surprise when he saw a flash of blue. Then red. Then blue. Then red. Mesmerized, he stared in silence with his mouth half-open, then his eyes started trailing, trying to find the source of the light. And he did.

And he panicked.

Because even slightly drunk, Max was aware enough to know it was a police car. Luckily, though, it didn't seem to notice him and just continued driving down the road.

But Max was sick of not being noticed.

So he reached for a small rock that was near him, and, as the police car drove past, he chucked it as hard as possible. It hit the door, leaving a small dent, and Max grinned to himself, satisfied as he took another sip.

Ooh, dizziness. Max liked it.

The police car stopped.

Max didn't like it.

"Hey, kid," The door opened and a police officer stepped out, taking a few steps toward him. His eyes widened when he saw the kid had beer, though.

"Oh hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllll no you're not taking me alive!" Max grabbed another rock and threw it, this time at the cop, hitting him right in the shoulder.

"Ah-" The cop gritted his teeth, staggering a bit, then continued forward. "Look, kid, just calm down."

"Pissssss off!" Max yelled, reaching for another rock. This one was smaller, but that was okay, because it hit the police officer right in the nose. The cop stumbled back in shock, hands flying up to his face.

Max took the chance to try to stand, but everything started tilting at an odd angle so he gave up and sat back, watching. He wanted to take another sip of the beer but it was kinda hard to move now so he just sat there.

After a few minutes of the police officer trying to get his nose to stop bleeding, he finally came forward, grabbed Max and yanked him up rather harshly. Max winced, but only because the movement made everything start to spin violently. The beer bottle slipped from his fingers and went crashing to the ground and suddenly his arms were behind his back, wrists being cuffed.

Didn't stop him from struggling.

"Nooo, no, get the fuck off of me!" Max yelled. He kicked and screamed and writhed and gave very descriptive threats on how this police officer was gonna die slow and bloody but nothing seemed to be working.

"I just wanted a fuckin' sandwich!" Max shrieked as he was pushed into the police car. He continued to scream the whole way, just random things that didn't make any sense until his throat started hurting and he felt himself losing consciousness.

"Jus' wanted some breaaaaad." The kid whined one last time before giving into the dizzying darkness.

* * *

He woke up on some hard-ass bed that really wasn't comfortable _at all_ and was hit with a wave of nausea and a very bad headache. But he mostly felt like he was gonna throw up. "Mmmm…" He looked around, and too tired to make it over to the toilet in the corner of the small room, he managed to wriggle forward and let his head hang over the bed. Then he let it all go, only pulling himself back up completely onto the bed when he was sure he'd gotten it all out of him.

The kid looked around, and let out a groan when he finally realized where he was. "Fuuuuuuuuuck me..."

"You awake there, sparky?" He heard a voice that sounded slightly familiar and saw a face that looked slightly familiar through the bars. Max didn't move, feeling like if he moved he would just… Die.

Instead he managed to raise one hand and flip the police officer off, letting his head drop down onto the cold, uncomfortable bed. "And fuck you."

The cop just sighed. "Where are your parents, kid?"

"Fucked if I know." Max mumbled. He really wished this guy would leave him alone. He just wanted to die in peace.

"You don't know where your parents are? Well can you at least tell me why you were sitting outside a store drinking beer?"

Max grunted. The memories from lastnight were fuzzy. "What'd I do?"

"Well, you freaked out and started throwing rocks at the police car, then at me - And thanks for the broken nose, by the way.."

Max smirked. _Victory is mine._ "Y'welcome."

The police officer sighed again, now sounding more annoyed. "You're not gonna make this easy, are you?"

"Nope." Max mumbled. "So how long do I gotta stay in this hellhole?"

"Two months."

"Two months?" Max's voice rose suddenly, becoming more distressed as he lifted his head finally, opening his eyes to look at the cop again. "But - Camp.."

"Sorry, kid." The police officer sighed. "That's just how it goes." He turned away, then glanced back. "You hungry?"

Max gagged at the thought of food, covering his mouth, and that was enough of a response.

"Okay, well, tell me when you are." And, with a smirk, the cop added; "I'll bring you a sandwich."

" _Fuck you_." Max growled, and the police officer just shook his head and headed off, leaving Max pissed and stressed.

Great. Great. He was gonna miss camp. He was gonna miss camp 'cause he was gonna be stuck in this hellhole because he was an idiot and oh _god_ he was gonna miss camp. He didn't think he could be so upset about that, but he was. Camp was the only thing he'd had to look forward to and it was definitely better than being locked up here, or stuck at home alone.

Max groaned and curled himself up slightly, taking a deep breath.

 _Two months._ He thought. _Two months and you can get the hell outta here. Get the hell back to Camp Campbell._

And Max honestly never thought he'd hope so much to go back there.

But… Oh, God, he couldn't wait for two months to pass.

* * *

Two months passed so. Fucking. Slowly.

And police officers were _dicks._ They thought they were so fuckin' _great._ It took all Max had not to start throwing punches, because he knew if he did he'd end up getting more than two months and he coudn't have any of that now could he? So, he managed to keep any physical violence at bay and instead just threw out snarky, snide comments. At least for the first month.

Turns out Max didn't like being locked up.

At all.

It was awful. And Max hated it. He hated being in one small, confined area. He relished in whatever free time he got outside of the cell, but he hated it. Hated that he'd steadily began to curb his tongue and watch what he said to avoid being shoved into that cell sooner. Hated that he hated it.

He just wanted to be at Camp Campbell. With David, and Neil and Nikki, acting all cynical and trying to bring everybody down but inwardly feeling lifted by David's cheerfulness and Nikki's excited nature and Neil… Well, Max didn't really know what it was about Neil but the point was he didn't hate them. He didn't hate the camp.

He hated this. He hated cells. He hated being locked up. He hated jail. He hated counting down the days, desperate for two months to pass.

And finally, they did. Finally he was released from the cell.

But then there was a problem.

"We can't let you go if you've got nowhere to go, kiddo."

Max stared up at the police officer in disbelief. No, no, they'd had a deal. Two months. Two months and then he was out.

"Wait," Max managed, trying to suppress the panic. He had a feeling his parents either weren't back or didn't care so he had to act fast. _Think, Max. Think._

"I - I got somewhere to go."

"Really? Where?"

"It's," Max just let the words spill, hardly paying attention to what he was saying. "Camp - Camp Campbell."

"Look, that's nice and all but unless you have an adult family member there that can-"

"Okay, okay, take me to my friend's house."

"Who's your friend?"

"His name's Matt Gangham." Max muttered, eyes narrowing. Telling the lie was so easy, so natural. "His parents used to babysit me. I'll be fine there until my mom and dad get home."

"Okay.." The police officer narrowed his eyes, but nodded. "Okay. Where does he live?"

Max sighed in relief, and inwardly, he smirked. Good. This was working out perfectly.

* * *

Max didn't know what to expect when he got to his house, the house he'd told the police officer had belonged to his friend "Matt", but he knew that he wasn't surprised that his parents weren't there. Once he managed to convince the police officer that he would be fine there with "Matt"'s parents, and got the handcuffs off, he wasted no time rushing inside, not even waiting for the cop to drive off. Quickly locking the door, Max went to the kitchen. He grabbed the sticky note with David's number, then grabbed the phone off of the table and dialed the number before putting the phone to his ear.

He didn't even think about it.

Everything felt so… Off.

 _Answer. Answer. God, please answer.._

And he did. " _Hello?"_ David's voice sounded rough with sleep, and Max felt a faint twinge of guilt. He went silent, closing his eyes.

"Hey, David."

" _Max?"_ And David sounded so disbelieving and so fucking hopeful it brought a grin to Max's face for a second. Right now he didn't have to worry about masking his expression. He was alone.

"Yeah…" The guilt was back. He'd said he wasn't gonna come back to camp. But here he was, calling David in the middle of the night. For some reason. Some reason he didn't know.

" _Everything alright, Max?"_

"Yep," Max lied. _No, nothing's alright. I just want to come back to camp._ "Sorry for the late-night call. Just… Wanted to tell you something."

" _Yeah?"_ And Max could hear the worry in David's voice. He bit down on his tongue and sighed, going silent. He didn't deserve to be able to call him. He didn't deserve for David to be concerned about him.

But David was the closest thing he had to a father and god dammit he needed somebody. He needed somebody bad.

" _Max, what is it?"_

"Well," Max sighed. "I wanted to let you know I'm gonna be a little late to camp." _But you already know that._ "Couldn't call to tell you ea-"

Shit. Yawn. Huge fucking yawn. He was exhausted.

"-rlier. Got into some trouble…"

And he trailed off. Hesitant.

" _Trouble?"_ David sounded even more concerned. Another stab of guilt to Max's heart. " _What kind of trouble?"_

Max sighed again. "Jail trouble..?"

" _You went to jail."_ He thought he could hear faint disappointment in David's tone, and it made him stiffen. " _Wh.. Why, Max?"_

Okay. Now he knew one thing for certain.

No way in _hell_ was he telling David about getting drunk. No reason to raise more disappointment, right?

"Well, throwing rocks at random ass police cars out of boredom was a bad idea." Max couldn't keep the pride out of his tone, but his voice had lowered, more distant now. "I didn't take into consideration there might've been cops in the fuckin' car, so."

" _Language."_ David mumbled from the other line and Max almost smiled. " _Wow, Max."_

"I know. I know." Max mumbled. "Well, I also started fighting when the cops tried to take me back home. Which ended up with one of them with a bloody nose, and then me in handcuffs, then I was behind bars."

Silence. Max took a deep breath. _Oh, god, he's disappointed._

" _You okay?"_

Oh, shit. That took him by surprise. He couldn't let David know that, though. So he cleared his throat and forced himself to sound annoyed.

"I'm fine, David." He replied. "Anyway, like I said… I'll be at camp soon." _One way or another. I'll find a way._

" _Okay."_

Silence again. Max turned and began looking through random stuff on the fridge, flipping through the calendar that was pinned up. Two months. June. The kid listed off the days, finger running over the small squares, before coming to rest on one.

 _Fathers day_

How fucking ironic.

Max felt something inside him - He didn't know how, he pretty much viewed himself as broken anyway - Shatter somehow. His parents were gone. Gone. They'd normally be back in a week. Longest they've ever stayed away was three weeks. They were never the best parents, hell, they were violent and abusive and neglectful but they were his parents and they were _gone._

Gone, and probably never coming _back_.

And Max really, really didn't know how to feel about that.

"...My parents are gone, man."

He didn't realize he'd said the words out loud until David spoke.

" _What? What do you mean gone, Max?"_

"Well," Max managed to mumble, backing away from the calendar and looking around the empty, dark kitchen. "They said they were gonna come back…. But that was like, two months ago."

Why was he doing this? Why was he talking to David about this?

" _Two months…"_ There was a very long pause. " _Why didn't you call me before now?"_

Max sighed, "Uh, hey, idiot. Jail, remember?"

" _You were in jail for two months?"_ David sounded stressed and any other time Max would've patted himself on the back for it but all he felt was guilt.

"Hey, time flies behind bars. It wasn't all bad." Oh, oh, God he was lying. He never wanted to go back to jail. Not ever, ever again.

Pause. " _Do you need me to come pick you up?"_

 _Yes._ "No," Max replied quietly. He'd already caused enough trouble by calling and spilling all of this. "No, I got a ride. I'll be there by tomorrow."

 _To Do List; Find a ride to Camp Camp._

" _Okay."_ David sounded hesitant. " _God, okay…. Are you okay?"_

 _Kick David's ass._

"If you ask me that again, the next time I see you I will punch you in your fucking face, David."

It was so easy to fall back into their normal routine. So easy to pick up that sarcasm and snarkiness and rudeness again.

He heard a snort from the other line and had to suppress a smile.

"Don't laugh. I'm serious."

" _I know."_ David replied almost affectionately, and Max fell silent, mouth suddenly dry. Then David spoke up again. " _Hey, Max?"_

"Yeah, bitch?"

" _Language,"_

 _Fuck off._

" _I'm not complaining. I'm glad you called. But… Why_ did _you call?"_

David now just sounded confused and concerned but there was something else there, too, something Max didn't understand. Something he wasn't sure he wanted to understand.

Max's barely-there smile faded away and he looked away, gaze trailing around. "I don't know." He finally mumbled. "I mean, I didn't even realize I _did_ call you until I heard your voice." He paused for a second. "...I don't know."

There was silence for a while, and then; " _Well, I'm glad you called."_

"Fuck off."

There was a low chuckle that brought the barely-there smile back, and Max shut his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Anyway… Just…" He trailed off. "I'll be there soon to punch you in the face."

" _I'm looking forward to it, Max."_

Max's small smile turned into a smirk. "Ah, shut up." He mumbled, and fell silent. David seemed to take his advice and he did shut up.

Max wished he hadn't. He wanted to hear his voice. His annoying, way-too-cheerful voice. He wanted David to tell him everything was going to be okay, like he usually did. He wanted David to try to see the bright side of this situation.

But David wasn't. David was quiet and it made Max panic slightly because if David wasn't telling him the bright side of this situation then maybe there wasn't a bright side and Max was just completely fucked?

 _Shit._

"I'll let you sleep." Max managed to keep his voice steady, staring around with a small frown on his face.

" _Okay."_ David sighed back, sounding concerned. " _...Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything else."_

And Max hadn't realized everything had started spinning until it finally jerked to a stop.

Those few words, stupid and simple as they might be, they were all Max needed to hear. Because right then, in a situation where Max honestly felt more alone than he ever had in his life, where he felt like he had nobody to turn to, nobody to talk to, nobody at all…

But he did have someone. And honestly, knowing it was David, that was enough for him, it was all he needed.

"Yeah… Whatever."

" _See you tomorrow."_

"See you." Max murmured. And he looked up, looked around, before his gaze rested on the calendar. Everything seemed to go blank. Everything seemed to stop, jerking to a sharp halt, and for some reason Max spoke up, right at the last second; "David?"

There was a small pause. " _Yeah, Max?"_

Everything went still. Silent.

Max didn't even know if he was breathing anymore. He just knew he didn't deserve to be able to turn to David, to have David care so much when Max had really always been nothing but a huge dick to him. He didn't deserve to have that. That one, steady thing he always relied on, the thing he felt like he took advantage of, because he did.

Well, not anymore.

He didn't know how this had happened. How they'd gotten like this. How Max started looking at David as more than just some stupid camp counselor. All he knew was that things have definitely changed. Because suddenly Max wanted David to know he did care. He wanted David to know he liked the camp. Loved the camp, even. But he probably wouldn't go that far. He wanted David to know….

He wanted David to know what for all his stupid, snarky, rude comments, Max really didn't hate him. Not as much as he said. Hell, not at all.

But he couldn't say all this. His mouth felt dry and the words stuck in his throat, nearly choking him somehow. He couldn't bring himself to give that big, sappy speech. Not that he wanted to, but he tried, oh, he really tried.

Finally, he gave up. He gave up and shut his eyes, ready to hang up. That was a bad idea. He shouldn't have said anything. He just wanted to say _something_ though. Something… Something that let David know…

"Happy fathers day." The words spilled out before he could stop them and honestly, he wouldn't have tried to, anyway.

 _Good enough._

Then he added, just for good measure; "...Asshole."

Then he hung up. He hung up and he sat there for a while, staring down at the phone. Then he turned, and grabbed the sticky note with David's number on it before turning and heading upstairs. Well, he'd made a promise and he was gonna keep it, he was gonna be in that camp by tomorrow or he was gonna die trying. Okay maybe that was a little extreme, but he didn't care. Hell, if all else failed, he'd call David to come pick him up, after all, he'd offered, right?

But first he'd check his room for cash. Maybe he had enough to take a bus.


	2. Oops I Did It Again

Max really had to stop getting into situations like this.

And if he wasn't drunk as hell, he'd blame the shady alley kids that had offered him _more_ alcohol for money. Max had refused at first, he had to get a bus, but then there was some shit-talking and Max tried to remember how he felt last time. Last time he got drunk. He couldn't, but that was the point. The pain had gone away. The sadness had gone away.

And now Max was sitting in some chair at the police station, swinging his legs back and forth and humming David's stupid Camp Campbell song under his breath. Everything was tingly, but not as dizzy. He hadn't gotten the strong stuff, but this time he managed to down a whole bottle before the cops got to him again.

He didn't fight this time. Apparently the fighting last time was what it took to get him arrested - And injuring a police officer - But Max had pretty much blindly followed the cop who was now trying to get in touch with his parents.

"Kid, I really need your name."

Max's mint-green eyes focused on the police officer in front of him. She was nicer than the one from last time. And she looked worried. Max couldn't quite figure out why. He was _fine._ Hell, he was _better_ than fine. Though he was lonely. And he wanted to go back to Camp Campbell.

Max tipped his head to the side. "Mmm'wan' David."

"Who's David?" The police officer pressed, now seeming annoyed.

"...Dad."

The police officer perked up instantly. Okay, now they were finally getting somewhere. "Oh, David's your father?"

For some reason, Max liked the way that sounded, and he gave a wide grin, showing off most of his teeth in the process. The cop couldn't seem to help smiling back, like it was infectious or something.

"Okay, so, do you know how we can get in touch with him?"

Max's smile melted and he tilted his head again, blinking at her. "Camp."

"Camp," The police officer's eyebrows furrowed. "Okay. But how can we contact David? Do you have his number, or…"

Max squinted at her, then suddenly leaned back and went shuffling through the pockets of his hoodie, pulling out the slightly crinkled sticky note with David's number on it. He looked down and blinked down at it.

"Wan' David."

"Alright." The police officer ruffled his hair and took the note. "I'm gonna call him now to come get you, okay? Sit tight."

"Don' deserve it." Max muttered, but the cop had already turned and was walking away to grab a phone. Max sighed and dropped his gaze, licking his lips. He could really go for some more alcohol about now.

Well, at least he wasn't behind bars again. And apparently David was coming by. So that was a plus.

The bad thing about this whole thing was that he was thinking so fucking _clearly_ it almost hurt. Yet it didn't hurt, because everything felt numb.

Mm, he liked the numb. The numb didn't hurt. It was _numb_. And it was better than being dizzy, too. He got the good stuff this time around. Too bad he forgot what kind it was, though.

"I wanna sannnndwiiiich," Max suddenly spoke up, staring at the police officer, who suddenly looked very far away. She was on the phone, talking too fast and standing too far away so Max couldn't hear what she was saying. She seemed to be trying to console someone.

Oh. David was probably freaking out.

 _Oops,_ Max thought idly, nibbling on his thumb. It was a nervous habit that had disappeared when he hit age seven but it seemed to be returning now. _I did it again…_

After what felt like _hours_ to Max (when in reality it was like a one-minute phone call) the police officer hung up and headed back over to Max.

"David?" Max asked hopefully, eyebrows knitting together. He was vaguely aware of how much he sounded like a kid.

 _Then again, I'm entitled. I am a kid._

"He's on his way." The cop said vaguely, looking puzzled, like the whole conversation she'd just had had confused the hell outta her. Max wanted to laugh. David did have that effect on people.

"M'kay," Max nodded in acceptance, feeling a rush of relief that he never thought he would feel at the thought of David showing up. "He… Fuck."

"Fuck?" The police officer looked appalled at the kid's language, but was mostly confused as to why he was saying it. "I thought you wanted him to come?"

"I dooooooo," Max insisted. "I do wan' him to come. Don' deserve it, though. 'Cause m'a diiiiiick and he's so in...in...cent…" He narrowed his eyes. "Yeah.."

Okay maybe he wasn't thinking as clearly as he thought. But he was certain that even if he was sober, he would be thinking like this all the same. He just wouldn't feel open enough to say it out loud.

The police officer seemed completely bewildered now, sitting back and staring at him. "Kid, get some sleep."

"No." Max said immediately. "Noooo, wanna be awake when he comes."

"You should really sleep."

"Not tired." Max may be drunk, but he was not giving in that easily. He was staying where he was until David came. Whenever the hell that was.

"Okay." The police officer muttered. "He'll be here in half an hour."

Max's resolve wavered for a second. Sure, he wasn't tired now, but he might be by then. He shook his head and shrugged, sitting back and continuing to swing his feet back and forth.

"Campe diem." He suddenly muttered.

"Hm?" The police officer raised an eyebrow.

"Camp motto." Max explained, mint green eyes narrowing faintly. "S'posed to be carpe diem…. Mm'means seize the day or some shit.."

"Oh," The police officer gave a curious look. "You really like this camp, huh?" So far Max couldn't seem to shut up about this Camp Campbell. It was interesting to hear about.

Max nodded slowly. "Mhm," He then narrowed his eyes. "Y'tell anyone, y'dead."

The police officer just looked amused. "Okay, kid."

It all went silent for a moment before Max groaned and let his head fall back against the wall. "Wan' David…"

"He's on his way." The police officer assured, then tilted her head. "If he's your father, why don't you call him "Dad"?"

And Max's gaze snapped back to her, looking startled. The thought of him calling David "Dad" stunned and scared him at the same time. Maybe before, he would've brushed it off with some snide comment but right now he was drunk and vulnerable.

And now he was wondering the same thing. David _was_ the closest thing he had to a father. But Max didn't intend on calling him "Dad".

"'Doptive." Max finally mumbled, closing his eyes.

"Adoptive?" The police officer checked, and Max nodded. The cop nodded, eyebrows furrowing. "I see."

"..." Max gave a soft sigh. Now he was growing tired. "M'tired."

"Sleep," The cop chuckled. Max didn't respond, just turned his head to look over toward the door.

"He'll be here soon." The police officer didn't move her gaze from Max, who simply hummed in acknowledgement, eyes fixed intently on the door, as if lost in a trance.

Half an hour.

He could wait half an hour.

* * *

Max was seriously about to fall asleep. He was exhausted, and beyond that, his little buzz was wearing down, leaving behind a headache and some nausea. But he was still tipsy for the most part, wishing he had more alcohol, wishing he could go back into that numb state of mind because the numbness was so much easier to deal with. He didn't feel the need to be an asshole all the time, too, which was kind of a plus.

Max was about to doze off when the door suddenly opened and David pretty much ran in. Max's eyes snapped to him at once, and he felt relief, amusement and guilt hit him all at once. The kid reached one hand out toward the camp counselor.

"Daaaaaveyyyyy…"

"Max?" David stopped, stunned, and could do nothing but stare at the usually grouchy, cynical kid who was now reaching toward him and giving him the biggest grin ever. He looked so innocent, so _trusting._

So _not_ like Max at all.

"David." Max's grin faltered, but a small smile remained, staring up at David through wide, slightly hazed-over mint-green eyes, and finally the smile was gone. "Wanna… Wan' go back to camp now."

He really, really wanted to go back to camp. Leave this town behind. Leave his home behind. Because honestly, Camp Campbell was his home. It was a shitty home but it was so much better than here. Here with the bad memories. Here with the pain and sadness. Here where he was _alone._ He didn't want to be alone. He wanted somebody there. He wanted David there.

"Take him home," The police officer advised, standing up and looking at David. "Make sure he gets some rest."

"I will." David mumbled, walking over to Max. "Max… What happened?"

"Didn' mean to," Max said solemnly. He grabbed onto David's shirt when the camp counselor was close enough. "S'numb." And suddenly he was worried - Would David be disappointed in him?

"Oh, kiddo," David sighed, kneeling down to his level.

Max stared at him for a moment, and for a second, the haze in his eyes cleared up. "They're gone." He managed to say. His parents were gone. It hit him pretty hard every time the thought crossed his mind. He'd never really been close to them, obviously, he was used to them leaving. But it was mostly the realization that they were probably not coming back this time.

That he was really and truly alone.

David's green eyes flickered faintly. "I know."

"Got noone now." Max's mouth twisted down into that usual frown. David didn't like it. He'd much rather have the smile. "M'all alone."

"That's not true, Max." David murmured, placing a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Now, you wanna go back to camp, or sit in here all night?"

"Camp, Camp Camp." Max muttered, finally managing to ease himself up out of the chair. He was exhausted, but managed to hold himself up by clinging to David's shirt. And had he not been tired and drunk, he probably would've been embarrassed about it.

"Alright." David kept his hand on Max's shoulder, holding him steady, and looked over toward the cop. "Thank you." He said, unusual serene, and Max felt a flicker of irritation. Where was that dumb, cheerful smile?

"Just get him somewhere safe." The police officer chuckled softly.

"I will." David muttered. He looked down when Max tugged on his shirt, and the kid just stared up, giving him his best bitch-face, which probably wasn't really effective but he was _trying_.

"Camp." Max said simply, eyes narrowing.

"Alright, alright," David sighed and let Max lead him toward the door, although really David was the only one doing the leading because Max honestly wasn't good with directions at the moment. "Since when do you like camp?"

"Mm, shuttup." Max grumbled. Finally he just stopped walking and ended up shifting on his feet to lean into David, still clinging to his shirt, now with both hands.

"Max?" David sighed, rubbing the kid's shoulder gently.

"Tired." Max muttered, but he started to pull away to keep walking. He kind of panicked when he felt himself being lifted off of the ground, though, his first instinct being to struggle to get away because he knew what was happening and he didn't matter how drunk he was, that was a _no._

"Relax," David murmured, shifting the kid into a more comfortable position so that Max's head was resting on his shoulder. "I gotcha, kiddo."

"Mm," Max grumbled but gave up, burying his face into David's shoulder. "Camp Campbell,"

"We're going," David couldn't help but feel amused as he headed back to his car, and Max opened his eyes briefly to look at him, narrowing his eyes when David started to put him in the backseat, and the camp counselor sighed but gave in and let Max ride up front in the passenger seat, making sure the kid was buckled in securely before heading around and getting into the drivers seat.

"So, you wanna tell me what happened?"

"Beer tastes bad." Max murmured, leaning his head against the window. "S'good, though… Numb."

"So, you're drunk." David didn't sound very surprised. Max hummed and grumbled in irritation when the car began to move, sinking down into the seat.

"Numb."

"You keep saying that."

"'Cause… Numb. No sadness… N'pain." Max murmured, shifting over to lean his head against the window, sighing in content when his forehead pressed against the cold glass. "Don' wanna be alone."

"Max," David sounded upset, unlike him, and Max frowned to himself. David continued. "You're not alone. Okay? You'll never be alone. Obviously, you've got me. I know things are hard because your parents aren't around, but it'll get better. You deserve that, for it to get better, so it _will_ get better. But you're not alone. I'm here, and you've got all of Camp Campbell, and-"

"David."

"Yeah?" David's rant cut off instantly, now sounding confused.

"Shut the fuck up." Max mumbled, eyes shut, already beginning to drift off at this point. He heard a soft snort that was almost a laugh from David, and the sound made him smile faintly as he slipped off into unconsciousness.


	3. Can't Let You Get Too Close

Max was still asleep by the time they'd gotten to the camp, but he jolted slightly when David went to pick him up. The kid stayed asleep, but a soft groan escaped his lips, eyebrows pinching together in discomfort, somehow feeling the headache and nausea even unconscious. He shifted restlessly in the counselor's arms, eyes flickering open once or twice but never long enough to focus, lapsing back into a restless sleep almost as instantly as he was beginning to pull himself out of it.

He subconsciously felt himself being lowered down onto something warm, something soft, and instantly shifted a little to sink down into it. It was comfortable.

But then again that really didn't matter. The dream he was having distracted him again and he didn't have much time to enjoy how comfortable the soft, warm thing he was laying on was. His shoulders twitched faintly.

Then again it wasn't as much of a dream as it was a memory. It was about his first day of camp. He could remember it so _clearly_...

* * *

 _"Hi there, new campers!"_

 _Max's narrowed gaze fell on David, the eight-year old quietly shifting from one foot to another and staring the camp counselor down. He'd literally just gotten off the bus and he already didn't like the camp. And he didn't like the counselor. He didn't like anywhere he was being forced to go against his will just because his parents didn't feel like dealing with him. The child fell silent as he watched, rubbing his arm unconsciously, grimacing as his fingers brushed against the fresh bruises, and he let his hand drop back to his side before lifting it back up again._

 _Well, that's what he got for begging his parents to let him stay home. He just didn't understand. What the hell had he done wrong? Why the hell did they hate him? Why weren't they satisfied? Why couldn't they acknowledge they had a kid?_

 _Max had gotten so lost in thought that he didn't hear the counselor speaking to him now. The other new campers had wandered off to do their activities, and David's mint-green eyes traveled after them, and his eyebrows furrowed faintly. He didn't have any particular activity. His parents hadn't signed him up for one. They'd just sent him to camp to get rid of him.  
_

 _Max sighed, feeling his grip tighten around his arm, but he let it drop and looked up when he saw the camp counselor heading toward him. It took everything the kid had not to step back, having to tip his head back to look up at the counselor. Damn. He was tall._

 _"Hey, kiddo. Everything okay?" The counselor asked cheerfully, kneeling down to his level. Max's gaze quickly hardened._

 _"Yeah. Everything's just so damn peachy."_

 _"Wow," The counselor raised an eyebrow, tilting his head and giving a smile. "You've got quite a... Vocabulary." He extended a hand toward Max. "I'm David, by the way!"_

 _Max just stared at David's hand until the counselor let it drop. "Max." He finally muttered, reaching up and tugging his hoodie slightly away from his neck when it suddenly felt too tight._

 _"Well, it's nice to meet you, Max." David beamed at him. "I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun here at Camp Campbell."_

 _Max gave him an odd look, then let his gaze wander around for a while before finally shrugging and turning back to David. He didn't believe the camp counselor's words, not even a little bit. "I seriously fuckin' doubt it."_

* * *

Max let out a low hum of discomfort, eyebrows furrowing, growing more and more stressed as the dream continued on. His first day at camp had obviously been awful, and he hated the memory. Sure, he liked the camp now, but he hadn't then. And occasionally when he thought back, remembering _why_ he'd hated camp, it made those feelings resurface. And he didn't want that. He was just starting to get used to liking Camp Campbell, and he didn't want to go back to hating it. Finally, though, he stirred and managed to crack his eyes open, tearing himself out of the dream, finding himself curled up in one of the comfy chairs in the counselor's cabin.

The kid sighed, gaze trailing around for a moment, looking out the window. It was morning. Early in the morning. His head was pounding and he felt sick, but he managed to ignore that for now. He pushed himself to sit up, and decided that wasn't a very good idea when a rush of dizziness hit him head on.

He wished he could remember what had happened last night. But everything was so fuzzy that he didn't even want to try. It just made his head ache worse to think about it. He rubbed his forehead, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and middle finger, eyes drifting shut. He was starting to wish he'd stayed asleep. Even a dream about his horrible first day of camp couldn't be as bad as _this._

When he opened his eyes, everything was a little less blurry, though there was now a cup floating in front of his face. It took Max a few seconds to realize that the cup was not floating and had a hand attached to it, and his gaze trailed up to see David standing there.

"Here, kiddo," David smiled slightly, still holding the cup out. "Coffee."

"Thanks." Max muttered, reaching out and taking the cup, taking a sip almost instantly. It burned his tongue but he couldn't really find it in him to care.

"So," David said carefully, watching him. "...How you feelin'?"

"Like shit, David." Max said bluntly, looking up at him, although his mint-green eyes held more warmth than annoyance somehow. Not really like him, but these days, Max didn't really feel like himself, anyway. "My head hurts like hell..." He trailed off. "So... What happened?"

"You don't remember?" David tilted his head, eyebrows knitting together slightly. He looked concerned and for a while Max could do nothing but stare at him, inwardly kicking himself because he'd really missed the camp counselor after all.

Camp.

Camp...

 _Camp!_

"Camp Campbell," Max finally realized, his eyes seeming to widen faintly as he looked around again, this time taking everything in completely. "We're at Camp Campbell." He mumbled, mostly to himself.

"Yeah." David couldn't help but smile slightly. He looked rather triumphant and it made Max roll his eyes because he knew David had won. David had wanted him to like camp and now Max liked camp so David won. "Yeah, we are."

Max looked up at him for a very long time. "I don't know whether I want to hug you or punch you." He said suddenly, randomly, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly at the camp counselor.

"I'd prefer the hug." David admitted, blinking.

"Which makes punching you even more tempting," Max replied with a small smirk tugging at his lips. He did kind of want to hug the camp counselor but he decided against it, mostly because moving right now would make him even more dizzy than he already was. He looked down at the cup of coffee in his hands, falling silent for a few moments, before suddenly looking up. "Neil and Nikki - Are they..?" He trailed off.

"They're here." David replied, unable to help but grin faintly. Again, Max had the feeling David knew he'd won there, too. Because Max had made friends at camp, which honestly nobody had seen coming. Max liked camp, and he had friends. Yeah. David definitely won. "They're probably still sleeping."

"I'm surprised you haven't gone around yelling to wake them up by now." Max admitted, eyes narrowing faintly.

"It's still early." David mused, glancing out the window. "Besides, we were supposed to give them a free day like a week ago, so I figured they could use it now, and I could stay here and ta..." That's when he cut off, glancing at Max, and the kid raised an eyebrow.

 _Take care of you._

David didn't need to finish that sentence, Max knew where he had been going with it.

"David," Max sighed, annoyance lacing his tone, but also a faint trace of warmth that even he couldn't hide. "I don't need taking care of." He shrugged when David gave him a _now we both know that's not true_ look.

"Max, do you remember anything from last night?" David asked carefully, sitting back in one of the chairs and staring at him. "What you did, what you said..?" He trailed off uncertainly.

"No," Max answered honestly, narrowing his eyes a little. "Why? What'd I say?"

David just stared at him, then snapped his mouth shut and fell silent. Now Max knew it must have been bad because David would've told him by now, but the camp counselor went completely quiet and that was _never_ a good thing. Ever.

"David," Max said warily, now taking a slightly threatening tone. "David, so help me, if you don't tell me what the hell I said I will punch you in your fucking face."

"Language." Was all David said, eyebrows furrowing as he stared at the kid. Max actually _growled_ , holding his gaze, and David finally gave in. "You just talked about random stuff, Max. Mostly about... You being alone."

Oh.

Max's expression shifted faintly. As if it hadn't been bad enough that he'd gotten drunk and potentially disappointed the man he saw as a father-figure (then again Max had a record for doing that, anyway), he'd gotten all sappy with him, too. And that sucked on a whole other level because David wasn't one of the people Max wanted to open up to like that. Sure, he cared for David. Alot. He was willing to admit that. But he wasn't willing to just open up so easily because in his experience, nothing good ever came out of letting his guard down.

And he wasn't willing to lose David.

He didn't want to disappoint him. He didn't want to look weak in front of him. He wanted them to fall back into their usual pattern where Max tried to make David's life miserable and David tried to make Max's life brighter. So far neither of them were succeeding but there was that small voice in Max's head that reminded him he didn't _want_ to succeed.

So maybe he'd said he was alone. He _was_ alone, though, was he not? His mother was gone, his father was gone, he was-

But.

But, he was back at Camp Campbell. Back where Nikki was, back where Neil was. And most importantly, back where David was. Maybe he wasn't alone. Maybe he didn't have to be.

But maybe he didn't want to get his hopes up on that one because it would just hurt so much more the second he _was_ alone again.

"...But you know you're not, right?"

"What?" Max had been so lost in thought he hardly heard David. He didn't know whether the camp counselor had just finished one of his huge speeches but if he had Max couldn't help but feel glad he'd missed it. Though a small part of him was curious. Then again, not really.

"Alone." David pressed, looking worried as he stared at Max. "You know you're not alone. Don't you?"

Max stared at him in silence for a very long time, narrowing his eyes at the hopeful, concerned look on David's face. "Yeah, sure." He finally muttered, not sounding convinced. David opened his mouth to speak, but Max cut him off. "David, really. It's fine." The eleven-year old insisted, meeting his gaze for a second before looking away again.

It went silent.

Max didn't like the silence and dammit, he wasn't going to let it last. After a minute or so he carefully eased himself up off of the chair, flinching faintly when the movement brought the nausea and headache right back, as well as the overwhelming dizziness. He was vaguely aware of David hovering, ready to help, but Max pulled away and managed to steady himself by holding onto the chair, taking a deep breath and waiting for the nausea and dizziness to pass. Once it did, he fixed his eyes on the door.

"You okay?" David said warily, placing a hand on Max's shoulder. Max shrugged him off, which probably was a bad idea because the motion made his head move a little, which in turn made the room start to spin again.

"M'fine." Max mumbled, closing his eyes, but even then it felt like he was spinning in circles when in reality he was standing perfectly still. Finally he let himself fall back into the chair, letting out a small groan and pressing two fingers to his forehead, as if that would relieve the pain. "Dammit."

"It's okay, Max," David put a hand on his head for a second before pulling back a little. "It's gonna be okay."

And Max caught himself before he could tell the camp counselor to shut the hell up, because those words were what he'd wanted from the beginning. Instead, the kid just grunted and opened his eyes, looking up at him, trying to focus.

"This is going to be hell until I can move again."

"I know."

"I don't have anyone to talk to." Max mumbled, then gave a small, slightly forced smile. "'Cept you, but.."

David's lips twitched up faintly, but he seemed to be trying to remain serious. Max had to give him credit for that. It must be hard for him. "Nikki and Neil will probably be awake soon. Until then, I can keep you company."

"Super." Max murmured. His head snapped up, then fell back with a groan, realizing that hadn't been a good idea at all a little too late when another wave of dizziness hit him. Hard.

Well, the reason for that reaction was because of the yell from just outside;

 _"GOOOOOOOD MORNING CAMP CAMPBELLLLLL!"_

Max recognized the voice instantly, but it took him a few minutes to recover enough to realize who it was. "Mm." He mumbled, gritting his teeth faintly and looking over at David, who had moved a little closer to him, looking concerned. Max waved him away slightly, trying not to move too much. His head was throbbing.

"Well," The eleven-year-old grumbled when the pain and dizziness subsided, managing to focus again without the room spinning violently. "Speak of the devil.."


End file.
